5 possible replacements for Dani Alves at Juventus
Dani Alves signed for Paris Saint-Germain this week, bringing what seemed like the perfect relationship to an abrupt end. The Brazilian signed for Juventus last summer with a point to prove after leaving Barcelona, albeit after eight trophy-laden years, with a sour taste in his mouth.
“You’ll miss me,” the 34-year-old said as he walked out of his final meeting with the Blaugrana hierarchy, and they did miss him. In fact, they are only now on the verge of replacing him with Benfica’s Nelson Semedo.
Alves had a tough last campaign at the Camp Nou, but reinvigorated his career in Turin, playing a vital role in helping Juve to a domestic double and he came within a whisker of lifting a fourth Champions League crown.
But he leaves Serie A under another cloud after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. While he heads to Paris after turning his back on Manchester City because, in his words, he is a champion, the Bianconeri must look to replace him quickly.
Here are five possible options Maximiliano Allegri could look to.
#1 Mattia De Sciglio
A deal that had looked set for completion earlier in the summer, Milan’s talented full back would be ideal in so many ways. No one has defined the attacking side of playing at right-back like Alves in the modern era, but that is De Sciglio’s strong point too, mainly because of his blistering pace.
Milan’s consistent spending this summer, which could culminate in the Rossoneri signing Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, is likely to see them challenging for the Scudetto next season.
The birth of a new rivalry would make any deals involving De Sciglio and Bonucci all the more interesting; despite his undoubted talent, the latter may actually find first team football easier to come by at the Juventus Stadium, rather than the San Siro, after Atalanta’s Andrea Conti moved to Milan for £21million.
It is easy to forget how young De Sciglio is still, given how long he has been around in the red and black of Milan, but the 24-year-old would be a realistically priced option and an able, if not spectacular, successor to Alves.